Masaccio

Happy Birthday Masaccio!! Considered the greatest master painter of the Italian Renaissance, this painter, born in 1401, achieved much in his scant 27 years. He was appointed Master of the Florentine Guild at age 21. His grand, realistic style far surpasses most of his contemporaries and his frescoes have been used as a “school” for students. He painted Biblical characters and scenes, landscapes and architectural structures using the newly developed perspective technique for achieving depth on a flat pictorial plane. Perhaps his most successful surviving work is the series of Fresco panels in the Brancacci Chapel. St. Peter is the theme and three artists worked with him on the endeavor. There has been much discussion as to who painted which, but it is recognized that Masaccio painted the one here: St. Peter and the Tribute Money.